M-A’s Annual Middle School Concert Exchange hosted students of various ages and skill levels on Sunday. Middle and elementary school students from M-A’s feeder schools connected with current M-A students, performing a grand music concert with students of all ages playing together.
The event was largely organized by volunteers and William Flaherty, M-A’s director of Band, Jazz Band, and Orchestra. For Flaherty, the event is about bringing people together through music. “I hope that the older musicians are good mentors to the younger musicians, and I hope everyone just has a fun and social day of music,” he said.
The day started at 11 a.m. with pancakes and drinks in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) Cafe. Current M-A musicians greeted the young musicians warmly and handed out name tags. The first hour was full of conversation, eating, and bonding before they prepared for their performance later that day. Several professional musicians were brought in to teach specialized clinics, such as percussion instruments and violin. At the same time, Flaherty assigned the students groups to create a makeshift band and orchestra. The groups ran through song lists in preparation for their performance later that day.
At 12 p.m., the groups were called and musicians flooded the PAC for their practice performances. Flaherty directed the musicians as they made any necessary adjustments before their performance. After practice, the musicians took a break and watched Mariachi Tapatio, a mariachi band perform. Mariachi Tapatio, known for their specialization in Mexican traditional ensembles, played upbeat, soulful music for everyone to enjoy.
At 2 p.m., the students went back into the PAC, now full of parents and other observers. Flaherty gave a quick speech before the band took stage. The band worked in harmony together to run through their two pieces, “School of Fish” and “Band-o-Rama” and finished to loud applause. The Orchestra then started off with the timelessly beautiful piece, “Ode to Joy” by Friedrich Schiller. The orchestra concluded the performance strongly with the piece “A New World Fest,” an exciting and chaotic song. The audience gave a vigorous round of applause for both the band and the orchestra. Musicians left the PAC in high spirits, talking about their experiences that day before they departed. The orchestra and band played with harmony despite the fact that most of them had not played together until today.
The most impressive part of the performance was how elementary, middle, and high schoolers collaborated and combined their musical talents into one beautiful performance despite their differences in schools, age, and musical experience.
Sophomore Saarung Krishnamurthy had a positive and overall enriching experience with the event. “I thought it brought a lot of schools together, and I thought it was really good for M-A, because I like the positive energy. And I thought, you know, it’s good for the younger people, who are not as experienced,” Krishnamurthy said.
